Re: [needs translation] Page with Mission and Vision

I agree that the Mission Statement page at
https://fsfe.org/about/mission.html is much shorter, and I think that it is
much better.  But it has new text that is ready for another proofreading.

But first, I notice that although this page is filed under
https://fsfe.org/about , it does not seem to be accessible through
https://fsfe.org/about/about.en.html .  How is someone interested in
finding out about either the FSFE's mission or the FSFE's vision supposed
to find this information?

And now for proofreading of the page itself:

1.  I assume that the four bulleted items early in the page constitute the
FSFE's Mission Statement, but this is only an inference.  The page never
says that this is a statement of the FSFE's mission.  Shouldn't there be a
heading, parallel to the one that says "The FSFE's vision 2048"?

2.  "All public funding for software should be for Free Software only!"  I
suggest replacing "should be" with "is."  This is supposed to be the FSFE's
vision for what it hopes will happen in what is now distinctly under 25
years.  Surely the FSFE hopes that by 2048 its "Public Money? Public Code!"
efforts will have been successful.  The present text suggests that in 2048
this will still be an unachieved aspiration.

3.  "In recent years we have witnessed an increase in regulation in our
field of work."  I suggest specifying the field of work.  Is it "software"
or something else?   You might want to say "an increase in regulation of
software" or "an increase in regulation of software and those who provide
it" or something quite different.

4.  I note that this bulleted item has two halves:  a boldface vision and
an optional description of what may have led to this dream being achieved
by 2048.  I like this approach; it should be followed elsewhere, as
appropriate.  (My suggestion for the second item follows this approach, as
do some of my later suggestions.)

5.  "All regulatory frameworks encourage the use and development of Free
Software."

(a)  As just a volunteer, and on a different continent, it is not really
for me to say what the vision of the FSFE is or should be.  But I suggest
inserting "require or at least" before "encourage."

(b)  I suggest replacing "use and development" with "development and use."
We have a saying in English, "Don't put the cart before the horse."
Software must be developed before it can be used.  (In my decades of
professional computer programming, I found that the usual practice is
"Develop, use; suggest, refine, use; suggest, refine, use; suggest, refine
. . . .   But some development must come first.)

6.  "We want regulatory frameworks to recognise those contributions, by
incentivising companies and organisations to develop and use Free
Software."  I suggest rewriting as "We are urging regulatory frameworks to
incentivise companies and organisations to develop and use Free Software."
What contributions?  (And we have another saying in English, "If wishes
were horses, poor men would ride.")

7.  "Young people have the opportunity to tinker, experiment and code with
Free Software as the default."  I suggest rewriting his vision as "Young
people have numerous opportunities to tinker, experiment, and code with
Free Software."  (I have inserted an Oxford comma as I rewrote.)


On Wed, Aug 12, 2026 at 4:03 AM Ana Galan <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi Richard,
>
> you were totally right. I fixed it in all languages so there is no part
> related to our previous activities and about any year.
>
> Now it is a bit shorter but i think it looks good.
>
> Best,
>
> Ana
>
> On 11/08/2026 17:44, Richard L. Schmeidler wrote:
> > I am suggesting extensive and drastic changes to most of the text in
> > this Mission page.
> >
> > I hope that you will give me an an opportunity to proofread this page
> > when you have revised it.
> >
> > 1.  "The push for device neutrality will be a cornerstone of our work in
> > 2025 and beyond."  I suggest replacing "be a cornerstone of our work in
> > 2025 and beyond" with "continue to be a cornerstone of our work."  This
> > phrasing is intended to be applicable now, in the immediate future, and
> > even in and beyond 2048.  The year 2025 is no longer in the immediate
> > future!
> >
> > 2.  'Last year, we further supported public administrations in their
> > transition to Free Software; in December we were invited to participate
> > as experts in a hearing in the German parliament; as part of our
> > watchdog role we held decision-makers accountable for their work in this
> > area; and in 2025 we will pilot a new event format on "Public Money?
> > Public Code!".'  I suggest removing this sentence entirely.  In a
> > description of the FSFE's vision for the year 2048, details of the work
> > accomplished 24 years earlier in 2024 and of plans for work to be done
> > 23 years earlier in 2025 seem to me to be quite out of place.  But of
> > course this is a description of the FSFE's vision for 2048, not my
> > vision, and the choice is yours.  If you do keep the description of the
> > 2025 plan, it should be written in the past tense.
> >
> > 3.  "Last year, we were engaged with the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), the
> > Product Liability Directive (PLD), the AI Act, the Interoperable Europe
> > Act, and other regulations."  I suggest removing this sentence
> > entirely.  In a description of the FSFE's vision for the year 2048,
> > details of the work accomplished decades earlier seem to me to be quite
> > out of place.  But again, the choice is yours.  But if you retain this,
> > "Last year" should be replaced with a more appropriate identification of
> > the time.
> >
> > 4.  "In 2025 and beyond, we will continue to serve as an independent
> > voice"  I suggest replacing "In 2025 and beyond, we" with "We."  See my
> > #1, above.
> >
> > 5.  "As in 2024, we will keep providing a safe and neutral space"  I
> > suggest replacing "As in 2024, we" with "We."  See my #1, above.
> >
> > 6.  "In 2025, we will launch a new format for our work on legal
> > education, in addition to our Licensing and Legal FAQs."  I suggest
> > removing this sentence entirely.  In a description of the FSFE's vision
> > for the year 2048, details of plans for work to be done decades earlier
> > seem to me to be quite out of place.  But once again, the choice is
> > yours.  But if you retain this, "In 2025, we will launch" should be
> > replaced with a more appropriate identification of the time frame.
> >
> > 7.  "As well as calling for “Public Money? Public Code!” for the
> > education sector, we are encouraging young people to code and experience
> > how much fun it is to shape technology!"  I suggest replacing "we are
> > encouraging" with "we will continue to encourage".  See my #1, above.
> >
> > 8.  "In 2025 we will be conducting the fourth edition of our European
> > programming competition "Youth Hacking 4 Freedom". In this contest,
> > teenagers across Europe can win €1024, €2048, or €4096 for their Free
> > Software project. Our goal is for young people from all over Europe to
> > see what others in their peer group can accomplish with software, and to
> > get inspired and motivated. We bring the winners together in Brussels to
> > celebrate their hard persistent work, connect with each other in person,
> > receive their awards, have a good time, and show their parents that what
> > their children are doing is great, even if they might not fully
> > understand anything about computers themselves. And we help them connect
> > more with the Free Software community."  I suggest removing this
> > description of plans for 2025.  See my #6, above.  Plans for 2025 seem
> > particularly out of place in a vision for 2048 when the 2027 contest has
> > already been announced.
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Aug 11, 2026 at 6:59 AM Ana Galan <[email protected]
> > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
> >
> >     Dear all,
> >
> >     I have been updating our Mission page so it is including now our
> Vision
> >     2048. Currently the page is in English, German, Italian, French and
> >     Spanish (as those were the languages in which I had the vision).
> >
> >     https://fsfe.org/about/mission.html <https://fsfe.org/about/
> >     mission.html>
> >
> >     It would be great if you can proofread it and if possible, update it
> >     into more languages such as Dutch, Polish, Danish... I am adding here
> >     Carsten and Damian so maybe they can ask someone to help with it.
> >
> >     Best,
> >
> >     Ana
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> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "The problem with quotes on the internet is that it is difficult to
> > determine whether or not they are genuine." -- Abraham Lincoln
>
>

-- 
"The problem with quotes on the internet is that it is difficult to
determine whether or not they are genuine." -- Abraham Lincoln

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